Device for changing the temperature of containers and their contents

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to apparatus for changing the temperature of containers and their contents, and in one embodiment useful as a wine chiller, includes a tank to hold the chilling medium and the containers, a refrigeration unit to cool the chilling medium, a pump to circulate the chilling medium, and a receptacle to receive chilling medium as it overflows from the tank; the overflow capability of the apparatus being greater than the capacity of the apparatus to return chilling medium from the receptacle to the tank.

[ June 10, 1975 l DEVICE FOR CHANGING THE TEMPERATURE OF CONTAINERS AND THEIR CONTENTS 7 Primary Examiner-William F. ODea [76] Inventor James Longmeaduw Assistant ExaminerRonald C. Capossela Orange Conn 06477 AI(()I'H' Agent, or Firm-William G. Rhines, Esq. Dec. 26 1973 Appl. No.: 427,680

[22] Filed:

(57] ABSTRACT This invention relates to apparatus for changing the temperature of containers and their contents. and in one embodiment useful as a wine chiller. includes :1

62/457 F83d 17/02 tank to hold the chilling medium and the containers. :1 62/430, 431, 433, 438,

[51] Int.

refrigeration unit to cool the chilling medium a pump [58] Field of Search to circulate the chilling medium, and a receptacle to receive chilling medium as it overflows from the tank; the overflow capability of the apparatus being greater than the capacity of the apparatus to return chilling medium from the receptacle to the tank.

62/376 62/376 8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures l 937,797 Stafncy 2,(]85,l86 Eger DEVICE FOR CHANGING THE TEMPERATURE OF CONTAINERS AND THEIR CONTENTS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Frequently. it is desired to change the temperature of containers and their contents relatively rapidly. Thus. for example. a purveyor of wines. whether at retail or in a restaurant. may be called upon to supply any of a wide variety of wines cooled for immediate consumption. In the past. there has been an attempt to utilize standard refrigerators for this purpose. but this has not proved satisfactory for several reasons. First, there is the problem of the volume of goods a purveyor is called upon to have in stock if he is to be prepared to respond to all requests. This means that to anticipate all such requests, he would have to have extremely large refrigeration units if he were to use units as previously known, although statistically a large percentage of such stock, for reasons of price, taste. and other factors of known concern to wine consumers, would have a low turnover rate. to the point where the prcchilling of such stock by such previously known apparatus is rendered substantially uneconomical. Further, it is known that certain wines. such as higher quality Bordeauxs. improve markedly from aging, or permitting them to lie dormant for long periods at room temperature. The mellowness and other indices of quality prized by wine connoisseurs which are induced thereby are believed to be a result in substantial part of organic processes which, according to well-known scientific principles. may be at least inhibited if not substantially totally arrested by prolonged retention at reduced temperatures.

Better restaurants have long realized this. and so have utilized, even to the present time, the well known ice-bucket as a means for cooling bottles ofwine imme diately before they are served. Such apparatus are cumbersome, expensive to operate. and time consuming, to the point that they are of little use practically to many restaurants or in liquor stores. An associated problem is that of maintaining a satisfactory level of the liquid by which the desired temperature change is effected. Thus. for example, ifa known per se ice bucket has one or more bottles of wine put in it. the volume of coolant water will be too small to cool the wine effectively, and as bottles are added, the level of coolant may get so high as to make it virtually impossible to remove the bottles without immersing ones hand in the coolant liquid; a process which is unattractive and distasteful to waiters, store owners. and patrons alike.

On the other hand, it is well known that interest in and comsumption of wines has increased dramatically in recent years. to the point where the discriminating consuming public has expanded rapidly and exten sively. In this context. previously known apparatus for cooling bottles of wine. particularly. have proved to be inadequate.

Similarly. there has been a need. substantially unfullfilled. for apparatus to warm containers of materials to be consumed. such as jars of baby foodv Accordingly. it is an object of this invention to provide means for changing the temperature of containers of wine or other materials to be consumed.

Another object of this invention is to provide apparatus by which beverages and other consumables in containers may be cooled with relative rapidity.

Yet another object of the present invention is to pro vide a means for changing the temperature of containers of consumables wherein the level of the coolant will be retained at a substantially constant pre-detcrmined level.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The desired objects may be achieved through practiee of the present invention, one embodiment of which comprises a tank for receiving a liquid by which the de sired changes in temperature of containers of materials is effected along with such containers. at liquid egress means positioned in the Walls of said tank at the level at which it is desired to maintain said liquid. a receptacle for receiving liquid after it has passed through said egress means. pump means for causing liquid to be moved along a path from said receptacle to said tank. and means for causing the temperature of said liquid to be changed so as to render it capable of performing the desired temperature changes, the liquid flow rate capacity of said path being lower than that of said egress means.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS That the aforesaid objectives of this invention as well as other desirable objectives which will be apparent to those skilled in the cognizant arts may be achieved through practice of the present invention will be apparent from the description which follows and from the at tached drawing wherein,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of this invention,

FIG. 2 is a cross-section of the embodiment of this invention illustrated in FIG. I, and

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the embodiment of this invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIGS. I and 2, there is illustrated one embodiment of the present invention comprising a unit main body 10 which is cylindrical in cross-section and may be formed from any of a wide variety of materials selected for properties suitable for the desired usage, such as plastics, metal, wood or the like. As with most of the remaining components which form the walls and top of the unit and the tanks associated therewith, it has been found to be particularly advantageous to use so-called thermally formable" plastics. such as polystyrenes, since, by the well known process ofvacuum forming". it is possible to form relatively large and complex shapes in a manner which is at once effective. fast and inexpensive. As illustrated, said main body 10 and the associated tank 30 and receptacle 32 are all substantially cylindrical in shape. but clearly these elements as well as the apparatus in general might take any of a number of other shapes. such rectangular solids or cubes having quadilateral cross-sections or ones having elliptical cross-sections, or the like. The main body 10 is internally supported by and positioned upon an internal support frame 12 substantially as shown in FIG. 2, having vertical support members 16 and a base flange 14 which acts as a receptacle and support for the lower end of the main body 10. Affixed to the base of the frame 12 are casters 18 of known design. for the purpose of rendering the unit readily moveable. The top 20, which also may be advantageously made by vacuum forming from plastic materials fits over the main body I0 and is secured to the top thereof by the use of adhesives or other known fastening means such as rivets or the like, at the region 21 of overlap, As illustrated in FIG 3, the top may advantangeoully to be formed with depressions 22 of such size and shape as to be useful for holding bottles of wine, for example, and thereby the unit may be made to have additional usefulness as a display device for goods being offered for sale. Additionally. or optionally, there may be affixed to the top 20 one or more timing devices 24 of known design which, being substantially clock-like mechanisms, may be actuated when a bottle of wine, for example, is placed in the unit to be cooled and, by means of a hell or other indicator. will give a clear indication of when the desired cooling cycle has been completed.

The center portion 26 of the top 20 is raised to form a well-like structure, in which is positioned a tank 30 designed to receive and hold the liquid coolant which is associated with the unit, and the containers of materials are to be cooled. This tank, as well as the receptacle hereinafter discussed, may also be advantageously made from thermally formed plastics, although, again, any of a wide variety of materials having suitable and desirable properties may be utilized for these purposes according to known engineering and design principlesv Positioned immedialtely below the tank 30 is a recepta' cle 32 which, as shown particularly in FIG, 2, is another tank coaxial with and surrounding the tank 30. A special feature of this particular embodiment is that the tank 20 and the receptacle 32 can both be made from identical thermally-formed parts, since they are substantially the same in cross-section except for their re spective top-most portions, and this is of obvious advantage with respect to reducing tooling and inventory costs. As such, the top of the receptacle 32 is affixed to the mid-portion of the tank 30 in the region 34, where they overlap each other in a manner which, for reasons that will be apparent from the portion of this description which follows, desirably is watertight as well as being mechanically sound. The receptable 32 also desirably is surrounded by a layer of insulation 38 which serves to prevent sweating", or the forming of condensate from humid ambient air on the outside of the receptacle due to the temperature of the outer wall being below the dew point of the ambient air because of the chilled water which flows from the tank 30 into the receptacle 32 as hereinafter described.

Positioned in the walls of the tank 30 is egress means 40 which, in this example, is in the form of a series of holes in annular array, through which water may pass as it overflows from the tank 30, whereupon the water will fall into the receptacle 32 via the passageway 42 formed by the gap between the outside of the lower portion of the tank 30 and the inside of the upper portion of the receptacle 32. This embodiment comprises a series of holes 40 positioned at that level on the wall of the tank 30 at which it is desired substantially to maintain the level of coolant water in the tank. The holes are positioned in that portion of the wall where the wall slopes inward below the region 34 of overlap between the top of the receptacle tank 32 and the midregion of the tank 30. This arrangement is particularly advantageous because the sloped portion of the wall of the tank 30 provides control of the coolant that is less subject to substantial fluctuations upward than would be the case if the portion of the wall at which the holes are positioned were straight up and down. However, another advantageous arrangement is for the egress holes to be positioned in a horizontal annular ring which forms a shelf-like step between the top and bottom portions of the tank. Of course other hole configurations, shapes and sizes might usefully be employed without departing materially from the spirit or scope of this invention. It will also be clear that the path for travel of overflow water might be effected by means other than a gap between the walls of the tank 30 and the receptacle 32 as is shown at 42 in FIG. 2, and that other configurations and structures. such as tubes or other forms of conduits, might also or alternatively be utilized.

The liquid flow rate capacity of the egress means 40, that is, the volume of liquid which will pass through it in a given period of time, is greater than that of the system by which the liquid is returned to the tank 30 as hereinafter described, and thereby an especially advantageous feature is incorporated into this embodiment of the present invention. Because of this, the capability of the apparatus to remove water from the tank when the water level rises to or above the egress means is greater than the capability of the water return system to return water to the tank.

By this means, whenever a bottle of wine, for example, is placed into the tank 30 and the level of the coolant water thereby is caused to rise, the water level quickly will return to substantially the level of the egress means so that the bottles may be readily re trieved from the tank without the necessity of placing ones hand into the coolant water. Further, this feature eliminates the risk of the tank 30 overflowing when, for example, a large container volume, whether in the form of several small containers or of one or more very large containers such as half-gallon or gallon jugs, are placed in the tank. On the other hand, when such containers are removed from the tank 30 and the level of the coolant water therefore drops rapidly, the tank will quickly fill to substantially the level of the egress means, thereby rendering the unit ready to receive more containers to be cooled.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a path of travel for return of coolant water from the receptacle 32 to the tank 30 is provided by an outlet 52 in the bottom of the receptacle 32 by which water can pass to a pump 54 by means of a tube 56, and a tube 58 from the pump 54 to an inlet 60 positioned at the bottom of the tank 30. A heat exchanger in the form ofa coil 63 is positioned in the bottom of the receptacle 32, or in some other known form of structure is positioned at some appropriate point past which the coolant water passes whereby the water will be chilled in transit. This occurs as a result of the passage through said heat exchanger of refrigerant which has been refrigerated by means of refrigeration unit 62 connected to the heat exchanger by means of refrigerant flow tubes 64, 66. It will be clear that the refrigerator-heat exchanger portions of the apparatus might be advantageously positioned at any of a number of other locations, for example with the heat exchanger at some other point along the flow path from the receptacle to the tank, for example. part way along the tube 58. Preferable, a thermostatic control device 68 immersed in the coolant is interconnected with the refrigeration unit 62, whereby the latter may be made to vary its output appropriately to maintain the temperature of the coolant at a desired level.

In use, the apparatus as hereinbefore described first has water introduced into the tank 30 and/or the receptacle 32 in quantity sufficient to provide an adequate working level as a coolant medium when the unit is in use. The refrigeration unit 62 and the pump 54 are then energized by electrical circuitry of known design, and by this means the coolant water is reduced in temperature and is circulated into the tank 30. The water in the tank eventually reaches a reduced temperature at which it stabilizes, since the thermostatic control 68 causes the refrigeration unit 62 to reduce its level of operation or even to cease functioning completely as it no longer is needed to maintain the water temperature at the desired level of coolness. When it is desired to cool one or more containers of materials, such as bottles of wine. they are placed in the coolant within the tank 30. This will cause a momentary rise in the level of the coolant above the level of the egress means 40, but, as explained above, because the liquid flow capacity of the egress means is greater than the liquid flow capacity of the flow path of the water from the receptacle 32 back to the tank 30 via the ports 52, 60, the tubes 56, 58, and the pump 54, the level of coolant water in the tank 30 will drop to the level of the egress means 40, thus exposing the tops of the containers so that they may readily be removed when they have been cooled as desired. Simultaneously with placing the containers into the coolant, one or more of the timers 24 may be actuated to make a signal after the expiration of a predetermined period of time, upon which the containers may be removed from the tank 30 at their desired degree of coolness.

it should be noted that the use of water as a coolant instead of other fluids, such as air, which are used in other refrigeration units, is especially beneficial, since water has a much greater capacity to absorb heat from the containers being cooled. Similiarly, the continual motion of the coolant material is particularly beneficial, since this not only ensures that the coolant in the tank 30 stays cold, but also because it causes the coolant immediately adjacent to the containers to be removed, thus reducing the depth of or removing virtually entirely the region of thermal gradient immediately adjacent each container which otherwise can have the effect of reducing the rate of heat exchange therefrom into the coolant.

It will also be clear that although the embodiment of the present invention hereinbefore described is apparatus for cooling containers of material, the principles of the present invention may also be utilized advantageously to heat containers of material. For example, by use of a heating element instead of a refrigerator and by making corresponding changes in the components of the apparatus. it is possible to produce apparatus in accordance with the present invention useful, for example, to heat containers of baby foods. and the like.

it should be understood, therefore, that the foregoing description and the drawings included herewith described an embodiment which is by way of illustration, but not of limitation and that this invention may be practiced in any of a wide variety of embodiments by those ordinarily skilled in the cognizant arts without departing materially from the spirit or scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for cooling containers of material comprising a cylindrical outer body,

6 a top with a central portion higher than the peripheral edge portion of said top, said central portion having an opening at the top,

a tank positioned within said body to which access may be gained via said opening. receptacle means positioned around the lower por tion of and below and spaced apart from said tank.

means positioned above the bottom of said tank at that level at which it is desired to have the surface of the liquid by which cooling of said containers is to be effected, whereby liquid in said tank above said means may flow from said tank into said receptacle means via a duct,

outlet means in the bottom region of said receptacle whereby water may flow from said receptacle means into a flow path including the inner path of flow of a pump by means of which liquid may be caused to travel to an inlet means positioned in that region of said tank which is below said egress means,

and means for causing the temperature of said liquid to be lowered, which means includes a refrigerator means and a heat exchanger means,

the liquid flow capacity of said egress means being greater than that of said flow path.

2. Apparatus for changing the temperature of containers and their contents comprising a tank for receiving liquid by means of which the desired change in temperature is to be effected and for receiving containers, said tank having a liquid egress means positioned therein at the level at which it is desired to have the surface of the liquid,

a receptacle for receiving liquid after it has passed through said egress means,

pump means for causing liquid to be moved along a flow path from said receptacle to said tank,

and means for causing the temperature of said liquid to be changed so as to render it capable of performing the desired temperature change,

said receptacle enclosing the bottom portion at least of said tank with the inside of said receptacle being spaced apart from the walls and bottom of said tank, and with the flow path for liquid from said tank egress means to said receptacle being the space between the walls of said receptacle and the walls of said tank.

3. The apparatus described in claim 2 wherein the liquid flow rate capacity of said egress means is greater than that of said flow path.

4. The apparatus described in claim 3 adapted for lowering the temperature of containers and their contents wherein said means for causing said temperature of said liquid to change comprises a refrigeration unit.

5. The apparatus described in claim 4 wherein said flow path comprises the interior flow path of said pump in tandem with conduit means.

6. The apparatus described in claim 5 wherein the lower portion of said tank is of less cross-sectional area than is the upper portion of said tank.

7. The apparatus described in claim 6 wherein said lower portion of said tank is substantially of the same cross-sectional area throughout, and said upper portion of said tank is substantially of the same cross-sectional area throughout, and said egress means is positioned in that region of the walls of said tank where the crosssectional area of said upper portion reduces to the cross-sectional area of said lower portion.

8. The apparatus described in claim 7 wherein said region is a section of a cone.

I l i i 

1. Apparatus for cooling containers of material comprising a cylindrical outer body, a top with a central portion higher than the peripheral edge portion of said top, said central portion having an opening at the top, a tank positioned within said body to which access may be gained via said opening, receptacle means positioned around the lower portion of and below and spaced apart from said tank, means positioned above the bottom of said tank at that level at which it is desired to have the surface of the liquid by which cooling of said containers is to be effected, whereby liquid in said tank above said means may flow from said tank into said receptacle means via a duct, outlet means in the bottom region of said receptacle whereby water may flow from said receptacle means into a flow path including the inner path of flow of a pump by means of which liquid may be caused to travel to an inlet means positioned in that region of said tank which is below said egress means, and means for causing the temperature of said liquid to be lowered, which means includes a refrigerator means and a heat exchanger means, the liquid flow capacity of said egress means being greater than that of said flow path.
 2. Apparatus for changing the temperature of containers and their contents comprising a tank for receiving liquid by means of which the desired change in temperature is to be effected and for receiving containers, said tank having a liquid egress means positioned therein at the level at which it is desired to have the surface of the liquid, a receptacle for receiving liquid after it has passed through said egress means, pump means for causing liquid to be moved along a flow path from said receptacle to said tank, and means for causing the temperature of said liquid to be changed so as to render it capable of performing the desired temperature change, said receptacle enclosing the bottom portion at least of said tank with the inside of said receptacle being spaced apart from the walls and bottom of said tank, and with the flow path for liquid from said tank egress means to said receptacle being the space between the walls of said receptacle and the walls of said tank.
 3. The apparatus described in claim 2 wherein the liquid flow rate capacity of said egress means is greater than that of said flow path.
 4. The apparatus described in claim 3 adapted for lowering the temperature of containers and their contents wherein said means for causing said temperature of said liquid to change comprises a refrigeration unit.
 5. The apparatus described in claim 4 wherein said flow path comprises the interior flow path of said pump in tandem with conduit means.
 6. The apparatus described in claim 5 wherein the lower portion of said tank is of less cross-sectional area than is the upper portion of said tank.
 7. The apparatus described in claim 6 wherein said lower portion of said tank is substantially of the same cross-sectional area throughout, and said upper portion of said tank is substantially of the same cross-sectional area throughout, and said egress means is positioned in that region of the walls of said tank where the cross-sectional area of said upper portion reduces to the cross-sectional area of said lower portion.
 8. The apparatus described in claim 7 wherein said region is a section of a cone. 